Rail crimes: Rajnath moots proposal for online FIRs

There is no "turf war between RPF and GRP" although there are "complexities" in that regard which need to be looked into, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday even as he mooted a proposal for online registration of FIRs for railway crimes to deal with the issue of states' jurisdiction in the filing of complaints.

There is no "turf war between RPF and GRP" although there are "complexities" in that regard which need to be looked into, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday even as he mooted a proposal for online registration of FIRs for railway crimes to deal with the issue of states' jurisdiction in the filing of complaints.

"Law and order is primarily the (individual) states' responsibility. Complaints can be registered online and they can be referred to the state concerned for investigations to be expedited," Singh said at a conference here on railway security where he, however, stressed that there was "no dearth of coordination" in this area.

Though the minister noted that there are some complexities involved in the railway security system, he insisted that "there is no turf war between RPF and GRP. (But) some complexities are there which need to be looked into it".

Admitting that railways was becoming a soft target for Maoists, Singh said, "We have to ensure security for all modes of transportation. A strategy should be worked out to provide security to all forms of transportation."

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is the security wing of the public transporter while Government Railway Police (GRP) is under state government. RPF is empowered to protect railway property whereas GRP is responsible for maintaining law and order on rail premises. There are complaints of non-cooperation from GRP and lack of coordination between RPF, GRP and state police when it comes to securing railway property. "India has a federal structure and there are some complexities; but there is (also) a solution to it. There is a solution to every problem, why can't there be a solution for this?" said Singh.

The conference was attended by the Union Ministers, high-ranking state police and railway officials.